Living With IBD
First Entry: May 18, 2009
We adopted Bumbly as a kitten in May, 1997. She joined two other cats in the house, eating Science Diet dry –
under the commonly shared impression that it was the best food (must be, it’s in the vet’s waiting room, right?).
She also received annual vaccines as recommended.
Over time she would occasionally strain during bowel movements and pass blood-streaked stools, I would
mention this to the vet at her annual exams and be reassured it was nothing.
On 7/31/2006, now 9, she was constipated, though passing some bloody mucus, vomiting, and lethargic. I took
her to our vet’s office, where she was seen by a fill-in vet. Her weight was documented at 12.1 lbs, which was
normal for her. She had an elevated white blood cell count and he did x-rays which he read as normal. She was
given Clavamox for infection of unknown origin. The next day she was worse so I took her back in. Her weight
was documented as 9.1 lbs, obviously impossible that she lost 3 lbs in 1 day. I wonder if she was actually weighed
the day before. Her regular vet was back and reviewed the x-rays which he felt were not normal. He scheduled a
barium upper GI study for the next day, started IV fluids and sent off an PLI, noting that pancreatitis was newly
being recognized as a common problem in cats. This came back slightly elevated. The upper GI series was done
the next day and was normal. On 8/3 she was sent home with a her weight at 9.4 lbs, she seemed fine for awhile
after this. I have since learned that barium seems to coat the GI tract and settle down symptoms. Though not
given a diagnosis of probable IBD until later, I consider this the start of her disease.
On 1/31/2007 I took her in for diarrhea on and off for 1 month, was given Clavamox and told that if the diarrhea
recurs I could just call for a refill at any time, no need to come in. I had started researching diarrhea in cats and
asked if metronidazole (Flagyl) would be a better choice, but was told no, use the Clavamox. My vet seemed to
be sort of “running out of gas”, not as motivated to pursue diagnoses as before, and I had seriously been
contemplating changing to a cat-only vet recommended by a friend. It was a big decision as we had been with
our vet for over 10 years. I was also doing more and more research about diarrhea and IBD, learning a lot about
diet and began changing foods, using canned foods and going to higher protein, better quality dry. This began
over a year of challenges trying to find a food that would agree with her GI tract but also be palatable to our
other 6 cats.
Finally on 3/21/2007 I changed to the cat-only vet. On my own I had given her prednisone and Flagyl with
improvement in her condition (the Clavamox didn’t help). But at this time other cats in the house were
experiencing diarrhea and I brought in multiple fecal samples. Her weight at this time was 10.2 lbs and for the
first time a senior blood panel, including thyroid testing, was done on her. It was normal, but one of the fecals
came back positive for giardia. This began a brutal week of giving 7 cats Panacur and bleaching everything. The
vet also started her on Hill’s i/d, which I was willing to try but with some skepticism, having learned to read
labels. The other cats’ diarrhea cleared, but Bumbly persisted. And on 5/2/2007 she went back and received
her “annual” vaccines (which will be the last time) with instructions to give her Flagyl as she usually responded
to it. I was told she could get Depo-Medrol injections, this vet’s preferred method of steroid administration when
needed chronically, if needed in the future.
On 5/30, her weight was down to 9.7 lbs when I brought her back in for continuing diarrhea. It responded to
Flagyl, but she was getting very resistant to taking it and hiding under the bed all day. I had changed her diet
from the i/d as I didn’t feel it was helping and didn’t like the idea of all my cats eating it. She received Depo-
Medrol and her diarrhea cleared, with her normal personality returning now that the pill threat was gone.
By 6/20/2007 I had joined the Yahoo IBD group and reviewed tons of information including a recommendation
to do B12 and folate testing. My vet agreed and Bumbly tested normal. I also asked about limited ingredient
diets and we started venison and pea dry by IVD and canned by Natural Balance. We used this for about 5
months, but she was still requiring frequent courses of Flagyl and occasional injections of Depo-Medrol while her
weight was gradually decreasing. Despite all this, she always acted fine, playing like a kitten.
On 9/18/2007, she went in for another semi-annual exam and her weight had decreased to 8.65 lbs despite
eating, acting well and having no diarrhea. Her vet said she was at ideal weight, not underweight. Her labs were
again normal, including thyroid, and the vet discussed possibly doing an ultrasound or even exploratory surgery
with biopsies. After being threatened with the possibility of surgery, Bumbly, who is very smart, decided to gain
5 oz in the next week, so we held off on any further work-up. She continued to require Flagyl almost
continuously and Dep-Medrol about every other month.
I started experimenting with various treatments that I had read about. These included Gastriplex, which she
wouldn’t eat; digestive enzymes, which helped slightly, if at all; pumpkin and Metamucil without obvious
success; and probiotics, which I believe may have caused diarrhea in both her and a couple of our other cats. I
also continued to experiment with various foods. It was all very tedious and nerve-wracking, changing one thing
at a time and waiting for a response. I also began giving her B12 shots.
On 4/29/2008 she went in for her semi-annual exam. She had been taking Flagyl and had a Depo-Medrol shot 2
weeks before (I was giving them myself at home). She had no diarrhea, was very active and playful, yet her
weight was down to 8.20 lbs. Blood work was again done, including free T4 as I felt she must have
hyperthyroidism, but it was all negative, so again an ultrasound was discussed.
By 6/2/2008, her weight was stable, but she was requiring Depo-Medrol every 3-4 weeks to control her
diarrhea in addition to the Flagyl, and I was worrying about long-term side effects from the steroid injections. I
had researched budesonide (Entocort EC) and wanted to try it to reduce the risks, feeling she was likely to be on
steroids for life. She had started having diarrhea again for a few days prior which rapidly progressed to being
pure water. The vet agreed with starting the budesonide. Though shocked at the price of $7 per capsule, I went
ahead and filled it, then devised a system to split them into 1/3rds. By 6/5 she had improved to pudding
consistency, and continued to improve over the next week to mostly normal stools. Since over the next few
weeks she would fairly often have soft stools early in the morning, I began to include ¼ of a Flagyl tablet in the
capsule with her budesonide. After a month, when it was clear it was working for her, I had the vet write a
prescription for 100 capsules, as they are only $1.85 each from Canadadrugs.com, but they did require you buy
100 (now it’s 90) at a time. She rapidly gained 2 pounds.
She has continued to take this combination ever since, now approaching a year on the same treatment. I have
tried to reduce the Flagyl, but she seems to have bacterial overgrowth and begins to have soft, smelly stools, so
it appears she is on it for the duration, though at just 1/8 to ¼ pill a day, which is very low risk for toxicity.
Every morning she walks out with me to the kitchen and waits for me to put the capsule in her mouth and
swallows it – I can’t believe how easy her treatment is now after all we went through, though I know at some
point it will probably lose effectiveness and I’ll be experimenting again, as is the nature of this disease. She and
the rest of our cats, are eating 4 flavors of Natural Balance canned food and Wellness Core dry – she starts to
lose weight if I remove the dry, even though she doesn’t eat very much of it, and the dry doesn’t seem to bother
her GI tract. She gets a B12 shot every 3 weeks - that is just what seems to work best for her. She had her semi-
annual exam 5/12/2009 and the vet feels she is doing well and her labs were satisfactory.
Some lessons learned so far from this experience:
1. Every case of IBD is different and there will be a lot of trial and error that will test your nerves.
2. Most vets don’t have extensive knowledge of the disease, so it is vital for you to do research on your own.
As long as your vet is willing to work with you and try different suggestions, you should be OK. If not,
consider finding a new one.
3. A baby scale is invaluable for monitoring.
4. Learn to read and understand food labels. Don’t count on your vet for nutrition info.
5. Either check B12 blood levels or just give the injections, or do both – might help, can’t hurt, and is easy
and cheap to do.
6. If you are using metronidazole/Flagyl, it is best given broken up and placed into a gelcap to eliminate the
possibility of your cat tasting it.
7. Consider a holistic vet – I have had great results with another (non-IBD) cat and will probably try this
route if/when Bumbly starts having trouble again.
8. Learn the AAFP vaccination protocols and insist your vet follow them:
catvets.com/uploads/PDF/FINALVaccineTable12.15.pdf
Update: October 5, 2009
Bumbly has been generally stable as far as her IBD is concerned. She's still on Entocort, Flagyl and B12
injections. With mostly normal stools. Her appetite is good, but her weight has drifted downwards to 9# 1oz.
While she is still about ½ pound above her ideal weight, I like to have a buffer in case she has a flare-up. She has
a lot of obsessions and compulsions, which to some degree make her personality special. But they had been
worsening and she was peeing out of the litter box with increased frequency, so her vet agreed to start her on
Prozac. She told me that it can cause constipation as a side effect, so I may need to reduce her IBD meds.
Initially I slightly reduced the Flagyl dose, but then read where Prozac can increase the systemic absorption of
Entocort, so instead I reduced that to ¼ cap per day from 1/3rd. She seemed fine for a couple weeks, but then
had diarrhea in the morning for 3 days in a row, so she is back on her original Entocort/Flagyl dose and doing
well. Her Prozac is squeezed into the #3 gel caps with her other two meds, for a real power pill. The Prozac has
worked well, she has mellowed out and the spraying has decreased dramatically.
Update: November 20, 2009
Bumbly went for her semi-annual vet exam 11/16 and was judged to be doing well. Her lab work was essentially
normal except for an elevated white blood cell count, which can be caused by stress, and she was very stressed
at the visit, as usual. We are going to continue her Budesonide, Flagyl, Prozac, and B12, and the vet consented to
trying Adequan injections for possible arthritis, so I will order that online.
Update: May 18, 2010
Bumbly went for her semiannual vet visit yesterday. Her weight is stable at 9#1oz and she has been on the same
meds for about 2 years and doing well. The vet remarked that it is unusual for a kitty to respond so well to
Flagyl and to require it long-term. She heard a very localized murmur which she has heard intermittently in the
past. She does not feel that it's likely a problem and has never pushed for an echocardiogram. She was intrigued
with how faded Bumbly has become, her head is still jet black but her body becomes progressively reddish-
brown. I remarked that she has actually darkened some over the winter, by the end of last summer she was
really faded. Other than fading from laying in the sun, she had no other explanation. Her labs came back today
and everything was normal, except an elevated white blood count which she always has and the vet feels is due
to stress and steroids (called a stress leukogram). There are no changes in her treatment.
We adopted Bumbly as a kitten in May, 1997. She joined two other cats in the house, eating Science Diet dry –
under the commonly shared impression that it was the best food (must be, it’s in the vet’s waiting room, right?).
She also received annual vaccines as recommended.
Over time she would occasionally strain during bowel movements and pass blood-streaked stools, I would
mention this to the vet at her annual exams and be reassured it was nothing.
On 7/31/2006, now 9, she was constipated, though passing some bloody mucus, vomiting, and lethargic. I took
her to our vet’s office, where she was seen by a fill-in vet. Her weight was documented at 12.1 lbs, which was
normal for her. She had an elevated white blood cell count and he did x-rays which he read as normal. She was
given Clavamox for infection of unknown origin. The next day she was worse so I took her back in. Her weight
was documented as 9.1 lbs, obviously impossible that she lost 3 lbs in 1 day. I wonder if she was actually weighed
the day before. Her regular vet was back and reviewed the x-rays which he felt were not normal. He scheduled a
barium upper GI study for the next day, started IV fluids and sent off an PLI, noting that pancreatitis was newly
being recognized as a common problem in cats. This came back slightly elevated. The upper GI series was done
the next day and was normal. On 8/3 she was sent home with a her weight at 9.4 lbs, she seemed fine for awhile
after this. I have since learned that barium seems to coat the GI tract and settle down symptoms. Though not
given a diagnosis of probable IBD until later, I consider this the start of her disease.
On 1/31/2007 I took her in for diarrhea on and off for 1 month, was given Clavamox and told that if the diarrhea
recurs I could just call for a refill at any time, no need to come in. I had started researching diarrhea in cats and
asked if metronidazole (Flagyl) would be a better choice, but was told no, use the Clavamox. My vet seemed to
be sort of “running out of gas”, not as motivated to pursue diagnoses as before, and I had seriously been
contemplating changing to a cat-only vet recommended by a friend. It was a big decision as we had been with
our vet for over 10 years. I was also doing more and more research about diarrhea and IBD, learning a lot about
diet and began changing foods, using canned foods and going to higher protein, better quality dry. This began
over a year of challenges trying to find a food that would agree with her GI tract but also be palatable to our
other 6 cats.
Finally on 3/21/2007 I changed to the cat-only vet. On my own I had given her prednisone and Flagyl with
improvement in her condition (the Clavamox didn’t help). But at this time other cats in the house were
experiencing diarrhea and I brought in multiple fecal samples. Her weight at this time was 10.2 lbs and for the
first time a senior blood panel, including thyroid testing, was done on her. It was normal, but one of the fecals
came back positive for giardia. This began a brutal week of giving 7 cats Panacur and bleaching everything. The
vet also started her on Hill’s i/d, which I was willing to try but with some skepticism, having learned to read
labels. The other cats’ diarrhea cleared, but Bumbly persisted. And on 5/2/2007 she went back and received
her “annual” vaccines (which will be the last time) with instructions to give her Flagyl as she usually responded
to it. I was told she could get Depo-Medrol injections, this vet’s preferred method of steroid administration when
needed chronically, if needed in the future.
On 5/30, her weight was down to 9.7 lbs when I brought her back in for continuing diarrhea. It responded to
Flagyl, but she was getting very resistant to taking it and hiding under the bed all day. I had changed her diet
from the i/d as I didn’t feel it was helping and didn’t like the idea of all my cats eating it. She received Depo-
Medrol and her diarrhea cleared, with her normal personality returning now that the pill threat was gone.
By 6/20/2007 I had joined the Yahoo IBD group and reviewed tons of information including a recommendation
to do B12 and folate testing. My vet agreed and Bumbly tested normal. I also asked about limited ingredient
diets and we started venison and pea dry by IVD and canned by Natural Balance. We used this for about 5
months, but she was still requiring frequent courses of Flagyl and occasional injections of Depo-Medrol while her
weight was gradually decreasing. Despite all this, she always acted fine, playing like a kitten.
On 9/18/2007, she went in for another semi-annual exam and her weight had decreased to 8.65 lbs despite
eating, acting well and having no diarrhea. Her vet said she was at ideal weight, not underweight. Her labs were
again normal, including thyroid, and the vet discussed possibly doing an ultrasound or even exploratory surgery
with biopsies. After being threatened with the possibility of surgery, Bumbly, who is very smart, decided to gain
5 oz in the next week, so we held off on any further work-up. She continued to require Flagyl almost
continuously and Dep-Medrol about every other month.
I started experimenting with various treatments that I had read about. These included Gastriplex, which she
wouldn’t eat; digestive enzymes, which helped slightly, if at all; pumpkin and Metamucil without obvious
success; and probiotics, which I believe may have caused diarrhea in both her and a couple of our other cats. I
also continued to experiment with various foods. It was all very tedious and nerve-wracking, changing one thing
at a time and waiting for a response. I also began giving her B12 shots.
On 4/29/2008 she went in for her semi-annual exam. She had been taking Flagyl and had a Depo-Medrol shot 2
weeks before (I was giving them myself at home). She had no diarrhea, was very active and playful, yet her
weight was down to 8.20 lbs. Blood work was again done, including free T4 as I felt she must have
hyperthyroidism, but it was all negative, so again an ultrasound was discussed.
By 6/2/2008, her weight was stable, but she was requiring Depo-Medrol every 3-4 weeks to control her
diarrhea in addition to the Flagyl, and I was worrying about long-term side effects from the steroid injections. I
had researched budesonide (Entocort EC) and wanted to try it to reduce the risks, feeling she was likely to be on
steroids for life. She had started having diarrhea again for a few days prior which rapidly progressed to being
pure water. The vet agreed with starting the budesonide. Though shocked at the price of $7 per capsule, I went
ahead and filled it, then devised a system to split them into 1/3rds. By 6/5 she had improved to pudding
consistency, and continued to improve over the next week to mostly normal stools. Since over the next few
weeks she would fairly often have soft stools early in the morning, I began to include ¼ of a Flagyl tablet in the
capsule with her budesonide. After a month, when it was clear it was working for her, I had the vet write a
prescription for 100 capsules, as they are only $1.85 each from Canadadrugs.com, but they did require you buy
100 (now it’s 90) at a time. She rapidly gained 2 pounds.
She has continued to take this combination ever since, now approaching a year on the same treatment. I have
tried to reduce the Flagyl, but she seems to have bacterial overgrowth and begins to have soft, smelly stools, so
it appears she is on it for the duration, though at just 1/8 to ¼ pill a day, which is very low risk for toxicity.
Every morning she walks out with me to the kitchen and waits for me to put the capsule in her mouth and
swallows it – I can’t believe how easy her treatment is now after all we went through, though I know at some
point it will probably lose effectiveness and I’ll be experimenting again, as is the nature of this disease. She and
the rest of our cats, are eating 4 flavors of Natural Balance canned food and Wellness Core dry – she starts to
lose weight if I remove the dry, even though she doesn’t eat very much of it, and the dry doesn’t seem to bother
her GI tract. She gets a B12 shot every 3 weeks - that is just what seems to work best for her. She had her semi-
annual exam 5/12/2009 and the vet feels she is doing well and her labs were satisfactory.
Some lessons learned so far from this experience:
1. Every case of IBD is different and there will be a lot of trial and error that will test your nerves.
2. Most vets don’t have extensive knowledge of the disease, so it is vital for you to do research on your own.
As long as your vet is willing to work with you and try different suggestions, you should be OK. If not,
consider finding a new one.
3. A baby scale is invaluable for monitoring.
4. Learn to read and understand food labels. Don’t count on your vet for nutrition info.
5. Either check B12 blood levels or just give the injections, or do both – might help, can’t hurt, and is easy
and cheap to do.
6. If you are using metronidazole/Flagyl, it is best given broken up and placed into a gelcap to eliminate the
possibility of your cat tasting it.
7. Consider a holistic vet – I have had great results with another (non-IBD) cat and will probably try this
route if/when Bumbly starts having trouble again.
8. Learn the AAFP vaccination protocols and insist your vet follow them:
catvets.com/uploads/PDF/FINALVaccineTable12.15.pdf
Update: October 5, 2009
Bumbly has been generally stable as far as her IBD is concerned. She's still on Entocort, Flagyl and B12
injections. With mostly normal stools. Her appetite is good, but her weight has drifted downwards to 9# 1oz.
While she is still about ½ pound above her ideal weight, I like to have a buffer in case she has a flare-up. She has
a lot of obsessions and compulsions, which to some degree make her personality special. But they had been
worsening and she was peeing out of the litter box with increased frequency, so her vet agreed to start her on
Prozac. She told me that it can cause constipation as a side effect, so I may need to reduce her IBD meds.
Initially I slightly reduced the Flagyl dose, but then read where Prozac can increase the systemic absorption of
Entocort, so instead I reduced that to ¼ cap per day from 1/3rd. She seemed fine for a couple weeks, but then
had diarrhea in the morning for 3 days in a row, so she is back on her original Entocort/Flagyl dose and doing
well. Her Prozac is squeezed into the #3 gel caps with her other two meds, for a real power pill. The Prozac has
worked well, she has mellowed out and the spraying has decreased dramatically.
Update: November 20, 2009
Bumbly went for her semi-annual vet exam 11/16 and was judged to be doing well. Her lab work was essentially
normal except for an elevated white blood cell count, which can be caused by stress, and she was very stressed
at the visit, as usual. We are going to continue her Budesonide, Flagyl, Prozac, and B12, and the vet consented to
trying Adequan injections for possible arthritis, so I will order that online.
Update: May 18, 2010
Bumbly went for her semiannual vet visit yesterday. Her weight is stable at 9#1oz and she has been on the same
meds for about 2 years and doing well. The vet remarked that it is unusual for a kitty to respond so well to
Flagyl and to require it long-term. She heard a very localized murmur which she has heard intermittently in the
past. She does not feel that it's likely a problem and has never pushed for an echocardiogram. She was intrigued
with how faded Bumbly has become, her head is still jet black but her body becomes progressively reddish-
brown. I remarked that she has actually darkened some over the winter, by the end of last summer she was
really faded. Other than fading from laying in the sun, she had no other explanation. Her labs came back today
and everything was normal, except an elevated white blood count which she always has and the vet feels is due
to stress and steroids (called a stress leukogram). There are no changes in her treatment.
| Bumbly Aggarwal - Orlando, Florida Approx date of birth: Feb, 1997 Diagnosed with Suspected IBD on March 21, 2007 |
Copyright © IBD Kitties 2008-2010, all rights reserved. Contact us at info@ibdkitties.net
Bumbly A.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |